"Previous papers presented a theory, charge modulation of aerosol scavenging (CMAS), regarding the manner in which cosmic rays could be affecting weather/climate. Because the atmosphere is weakly conducting, the potential difference between the ionosphere and surface of the earth drives a downward ‘fair-weather’ return current, characterised by a small current density Jz, the size of which is modulated by five independent inputs, one of which is variation in cosmic ray fluxes into the atmosphere. Electromagnetic theory shows that charge will be present at locations where Jz passes through an electrical conductivity gradient. Since clouds are much less conducting than the surrounding atmosphere, charge will be present on both cloud droplets and aerosols at cloud tops and bottoms. The presence of this charge can modulate the scavenging of ice-forming nuclei by cloud droplets, resulting in the intensification of winter cyclones in the northern high latitudes. This paper explores a potential connection between a CMAS-induced intensification of North Atlantic cyclones and the severity of European winters during periods of low solar activity, including the Maunder Minimum, the coldest part of the ‘Little Ice Age’.